Of Monsters and Men
by Shmeagle
Summary: Based after the second Gigantomachy, this is a Percy Jackson fanfiction with a difference: it follows the life of a minor villain as they are caught between a game of gods; what stars out as a minor trick causes unimaginable events that change and destroy the lives of many. I'll warn you now, the main characters of the series do not play a big role.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: As said in the summary, this is a little different than the other Percy Jackson fanfictions as it doesn't involve Percy directly and focuses more on the lives of the 'bad guys' in the series. I'll apologise now that the first part is small but it needs to be for what it serves as in the story. I'll upload a large part tomorrow though.**

**Part I**

As if a cord had been pulled and a curtained opened, bullets of water fell from the cloudy sky like shells from a gun. They fell slowly at first but quickly sped up to a pace rivaling the army of footsteps hammering along the ground in unison, a platoon of three demigods and two Cyclopes ran towards a common goal with fierce determination.

Ten minutes later the ground was carpeted in water and blood, slowly mixing into one sickly puddle of gungy liquid that shared the textured of soup skin. A body lay in the mess, droplets of rain and tears fell on its face, they rolled down to form small lakes that snaked their way underneath the head. All but two beings stayed at the aftermath, they wept together.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: This one's a longer chapter that explains more of the story and introduces the characters, just so you know, I've tried to keep the number of OCs to a minimum and the ones that are there solely exist to move the story. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, however I do own your soul.**

**Part II**

The fluorescent green lights of Bargain Mart hummed quietly as their soft glow lit up the evening sky, cars were beginning to leave the parking lot as the shop neared its closing time. Two monstrous female greeters stood at the doorway, one holding a huge silver platter scattered with leftover samples and the other possessing an unwelcoming scowl. A teenager walked from the store, the greeter with the platter skipped up to him with a huge grin plastered on her face, she offered him a sample but her offer was turned away with a dismissive wave. As soon as the customer was out of site, the grumpy-looking welcomer stormed over to the smiley one.

"What is your problem? I tell you time and time again to not interact with mortals – this is not your job, this is simply a front to catch demigods and yet you still offer random humans on the street cheese snacks. For the last time, stop it!"

"But Euryale," The greeter moaned, her smile wavering slightly, "I like my job..."

"You just don't get it, do you? We're not here to sell food, we're here to kill demigods and that's it."

"But Gaia's not here anymore, we can do what we want now."

"If you actually can, think! What do we eat? What attacks us every time they come in a three mile radius? What banished us and our sister to Tartarus?"

"Um…" She looked up at the sky and frowned hard, it seemed as if she had hundreds of gears turning in her head, grinding furiously to get an answer "rival businesses with competitive prices?"

"Gah! Stheno, you idiot, is that all you can think about? Is that all you care about now? I swear to the gods that someone as idiotic as you could be written off as a charity case."

Stheno looked distressed, her head darted around in search of support or at least a distraction, the lime green vipers that spouted out from the top of her scalp twisted in panic. Her sister glowered at her, waiting for a response, when a response didn't come, Euryale raised her hand and smacked her sister across the face, a squawk escaped Stheno's lips and she scurried off to a different area in the shop before she was hit again. Euryale simply huffed as she leant back against the doorway.

Large queues of people teamed around the checkouts, everybody in line looked flustered and panicked, as if they thought that the shop would close on them if they didn't pay for their goods in time. Stheno slowly walked over to the bagging area, a frail old man was slowly putting his shopping in one of the many clear plastic bags that surrounded him; he made the apparently easy task seem like strenuous work as he jittered when picking up a small tin of tomato soup and plopping it in one of the carriers with a loud sigh. The Gorgon looked at him with curiosity, she knitted her creased eyebrows together and pursed her chapped lips, the tough pink skin pulled taught as it was stretched over the curves of her tusks; the man seemed to notice the attention, he looked up at her for a split second but quickly went back to trying to pack his bag. This snapped Stheno out of her daydream, her pursed lips pulled back into an unnaturally big smile that could have easily been mistaken for a snarl if you could see through the mist. She started to approach him, her rooster talons clicked as they scratched the plastic floor. The man looked up again, this time he seemed slightly panicked and strained himself to pack his shopping up more quickly. Carefully, she lifted up her hand and brought it above the old man's shoulder, her bronze fingernails glimmered as they caught the buzzing light of the shop. Her hand fell on his back and he jumped slightly, instinctively swinging his head to face the monster.

"Hello sir, and welcome to Bargain Mart. Can I help you?"

He quickly relaxed his tensed muscles, sighing as he did so. "Sorry, I get a little jumpy nowadays. And yeah, could you help me with my bags? My car's just outside the shop but I don't think I could manage all of these on my own."

"No problem dear. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

The man looked at her and shook his head before picking up one of the many full carriers that littered the floor. Stheno stared at him for a minute but quickly gathered together the rest of the shopping and followed him outside, passing a snarling Euryale as they went (although only Stheno noticed this). The two eventually arrived at the car, it was an old silver BMW whose paint was beginning to peel off the bodywork (which was covered in large dents), the inside also looked quite tatty as the leather of the seats was fading to an off white that resembled the colour a subway wall might go if it had not been cleaned for a while. He unlocked the boot with a well-worn silver key and the compartment opened with a satisfying 'click'; with the boot open, the man practically threw his bag into the back of the car, Stheno peered at the shopping intently and then looked at the man with confusion in her eyes, he lifted his gaze and she dropped hers. After about a minute of her trying to comprehend his actions she copied them although she was slightly clumsier (even managing to break something in the bottom of one of the bags, however, she tried to cover the crack up with a loud cough).

"Thanks," the man said after closing the door of the boot.

"You're welcome dear, and I hope you have a nice day."

He turned around to get into the car but stopped to say something, "Say, you don't get many people helping an old man who needs it, I didn't know it was in your job description."

"It isn't, silly," she laughed playfully for a second "I just saw you struggling with them bags that you had and I thought that I'd better help you – you are the customer, you know."

"Hm. You know, there should really be more polite people in this world, we'd get far more done that way. But now it's all kids and their ideas about how you should treat your elders, times have changed so much. I remember asking a kid to…"

He continued to talk but his words melted into a jumbled up story as Stheno began to get lost in her own thoughts, she stared at him with a hard expression etched into her face, wondering why he would bother to talk to her for any longer than a few seconds – most mortals didn't pay her more than a glance. A more natural smile crept along her face as she realised that she liked the company.

"Hey, you listening?" He said quite loudly.

She snapped from her daydream and quickly chocked out a "Yes sir!"

"Good, it's nice to have a talk from time to time. The name's Thomas, by the way – you don't have to keep calling me 'sir', I ain't your master y'know."

"Sorry, I'm not really too good with people. The only person I really talk to is my sister, and she's not all that nice to me sometimes. Oh, and my name's Stheno, but you probably got that from the tag." She held it a little closer to his face so he could get a better look.

"Unusual name, that is. I don't think I've ever met someone called that before, you foreign?"

"Kind of… well, I mean yes and no. But mostly no, although you could argue either way."

Thomas shrugged and looked up at the sky for a little while, his grey eyes moved from side to side as if he were counting the stars that had started to fade into the evening. Stheno looked at him, slight puzzlement lined her face but she turned her gaze upwards as well; the red carpet was beginning to melt into a dull blue that engulfed the light, white dots faintly shimmered in the soup of colours like fire flies gathering around a camp fire.

"Nice night," he began "it's been a while since there was a night quite like this. But I better get going, maybe we'll meet again, Stheno."

She looked at him sadly and said a quiet goodbye, he drove off into the distance as a cloud of black smoke spluttered out of the BMW's exhaust.

A week had passed, she had not seen Thomas in the shop since the last time and began to worry that the half hour spent with him would have been the last friendly talk she would have for a while. She was, much to Euryale's approval, slightly quieter around customers; she seemed to be lost in a fantasy all the time, often forgetting where she was or what she was doing at specific moments. The time spent waiting seemed to blur by like the world was traveling through a viscous and gooey liquid, every second seemed to drag as Stheno began to crave Thomas's presence and conversation.

That was until the man himself turned up for his weekly shop.

Ω

Far above the city of Napa sat the god Eros, his wings caught the sunlight and created an iridescent halo engulfing the outlines of his tanned young body. In his right hand he held a golden bow and in his left hand he held a leather quiver that had about 20 pink arrows in, each one had a little heart etched into the arrowhead; the god looked down at the city with an intense scowl, as if he was searching for an annoying bug that had just bitten him. After about ten minutes of scouring the area, his eyes narrowed as a wry smile cut across his face, he brought the bow to his face, lined up the sights, and flicked two arrows out of the quiver. The bowstring was pulled taught, the arrows lay rigid. Eventually, he nodded and fired. _Athena will love this._

Ω

"Goddam it! What the Hell was that?" Thomas spat as he emerged from his BMW. He swatted at his neck to try to see if there was anything on his skin but stopped as the sharp pain subsided. The wind began to speed up a little and thunder boomed in the sky, icy droplets of rain flew down from the suddenly darkening clouds; the man grumbled to himself as he walked into the shop. Colourful products lined the shelves of Bargain Mart, most of the stuff was unhealthy food produce of varying E-numbers, Thomas ignored these and headed straight for the vegetable isle, all the while he couldn't get the feeling thing that he wanted to see that greeter again.

Stheno, meanwhile, was trying to figure out what had landed in her arm; she patted her bicep furiously with the palm of her hand, seeking out any lumps or bumps that may hint towards a projectile lodging itself in her skin. After a good five minutes of searching she gave up, picked up her silver platter, and got up to go to the front of the store. She travelled down the aisles at quite a pace, however, she got a bit distracted with the pattern on the floor and so bounded into someone, a clump of carrots flew from his hand and landed on the speckled ground.

"Watch where you're going, goddam it!" The man said, he rubbed his back as he looked up.

Stheno looked at him in annoyance at first but her expression quickly changed to a wide smile, she blushed slightly as she saw Thomas staring back at her.

"Oh, it's you. Sorry," he mumbled, seemingly embarrassed.

"Yep, it is me – it still says it on my badge." She looked around flustered for something to say but was cut off.

"You know, I've been thinking, I ain't doin' much tomorrow and I got some coupons for a nice restaurant a little way off from here but I don't have anybody to go with. It's fine if you're busy or whatever but would you want to come?"

Her smile somehow grew a little wider and she hugged him, "I'd love to come! I… I don't think I've ever been for a meal before… well, I've eaten before but that's not really the sa-"

"Sorry to interrupt the hug but you're crushin' me!"

"Oops! Sorry dear, I'm just a little excited for this."

"Well, it's nice to know you're eager. What'd you say about meeting me at Morimito at seven tomorrow?"

"That'd be great, dear!" Stheno said excitedly.

Thomas nodded and then went off to continue his shopping, Stheno skipped of in the other direction, thinking about what she would have to eat the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but I do own your soul (and I can't turn off underline for this author's note).**

**Part III**

A crumpled newspaper rolled down a deserted street, it skimmed over a crack in the concrete before coming to a stop at a wooden door coated in pealing green paint. The door opened with a slow creek, a scaled foot with slender clawed toes emerged from the dank hallway of the house, the cruel digits unfurled and snatched up the paper, quickly dragging it inside of the squalid abode. Inside the belly of the unkempt dwelling, the Gorgon sister, Euryale, opened the paper; she laughed slightly when she read about the fire that had burnt three teenagers alive but diverted her attention to the job section on the last page, there were pressing matters to attend to – she _had _to get Stheno a new place to work. Whilst Euryale skimmed through the numerous adverts, Stheno paced up and down her room, frantically trying to think of what she would tell her sister so that she could get out of the house alone. The cogs in her brain whirred and churned for an answer but all she could think about was what would happen if she didn't manage to get there, she panicked at the thought of not being able to have a delicious meal – as well as the fact that she might not see Thomas again.

An hour passed by, Stheno gave up with trying to plan ahead and bolted downstairs to see if she could make a lucky escape. Her claws clicked as they struck the concrete of the steps, the wall blurred as she continued to speed up, she saw the door and it was only a few feet away.

It happened so fast she couldn't even hold out her hands, the world seemed to turn upside down as the floor came speeding towards Stheno's surprised face. Her forehead smacked into the ground with a sharp crack, she squawked a little as the air was forced out of her lungs; her eyes turned upwards and she was met with the sight of her sister snarling down at her.

"Where in Hades do you think you're going?" Euryale spat, her eyes burned into her sister like a furious blaze.

"I… I…" Stheno paused and looked around desperately, "I'm going to check up on Bargain Mart's stocks, I think we're running low on wieners and you know how the customers get when they can't have samples. Which reminds me, there's a special on tomorrow and it really would be foolish if I didn't get the samples, I mean, the sales would go down quicker than the prices and –"

"Stheno, shut up. Anyway, you needn't worry about Bargain Mart anymore – we're getting a new front. I was thinking about a job at McDonalds or somewhere equally as attractive to young demigods, hopefully this time you'll be less obsessed with your work and we'll actually get something done; we're turning into a joke because of you."

"But… But… Euryale, I love Bargain Mart!" warm tears slowly began to line the bottom of the monster's eyes as her panic reached its pinnacle, "It feels amazing to give samples to people, and the staff like me as well, I thought I was going to get promoted to Head Greeter, although I don't just greet heads, and does it really matter if we catch demigods? Please don't make us move! How would I ever meet Thomas again!?"

"Who?"

Stheno's tearful eyes opened wide as she realised what she had said, her sister glowered down at her and the large vein in her forehead pulsed in anger.

"Who the fuck is 'Thomas'!?" She shrieked.

Euryale didn't even wait for an answer, she flung her hand down and grasped the collar of Stheno's flowery dress; her face inched closer, the furious red of her skin blended into the crimson scales of the coral snakes that darted across her scalp. Stheno choked back the sobs of fear that were threatening to emerge from her throat, broken parts of apologies tried to escape her lips but terror took hold of her words and she couldn't muster the courage to speak.

"Let me give you a word of warning: if you dare have a relationship or even see any man for a prolonged period of time, then I will personally hunt him down and_ skin him alive_. You're not meant to be happy, Athena made sure of that long ago, and I assure you that I will do my upmost to prevent any more trouble with this family and the gods. Understand?"

"But…"

"Understand!?"

"Y… yes," She whimpered.

Euryale growled and threw her sister to the floor with violent force behind her push, Stheno whacked her hip on the ground as she landed on her back, terror gripped her again and her eyes stung with salty water as she shook violently; without waiting, she turned over and limped back to the top floor.

Night rolled in and the time of the meal drew ever closer, the cloak of darkness swept over the streets, the only source of light came from the clouded Moon and the flickering streetlamp that buzzed with electricity. Stheno sat curled up in the corner of the room, anxiety tugged at her mind; images of Thomas melted into her thoughts she tried to get them away but she could not fight the feeling that she wanted, no, _needed_ to see him again. Pain tore through her bicep as the idea of giving up came to her, she yelped but went silent apace when she realised what she could do to see the man again.

Dust flew from the ground as her hand scoured the floor of the room, a small rock bounced out of its still as the hand hit it. She smiled as she picked the stone up, it felt cool in her clammy hands; slowly, she stood up and went to the window. The streetlamp blared its dim but revealing light onto the sidewalk, Stheno aimed her hand at the bulb and threw the rock. It sailed through the air like a missile, cutting through the wind at the speed of a bullet towards the glass.

The rock missed the lamp by a good meter and landed in the darkness, a second later an angry looking Cyclops stormed out of the shadows, he bellowed curses as he tried to remove the pellet lodged in his thick skin. Stheno ducked out of sight, she heard the front door of the house open with a creak and Euryale stepped out. The Gorgon screamed bloody murder at the Cyclops, fury lashed through the air as the shouts continued, eventually anger took hold of both the monsters and the argument escalated into a fight. Stheno looked at the two locked in violent combat and took this as her chance to escape.

Ω

"You what?!"

"Oh my darling Athena, it's simply a little game. Things were getting really rather drab up here on Olympus and I felt we needed a good love twist to liven things up."

"That does not excuse you from doing _that_. Do you have any idea what a curse is? Eros, if I didn't know better I would say that you did this simply to infuriate me."

"How very dare you! My dear Athena I do not wish to anger anyone, just have a little fun with mortals and monsters. What's the worst that could happen?"

"You don't seem to understand, I cursed Stheno and her intrepid sisters so that no man would ever fall in love with them, if you go around forcing a mortal into a relationship with her then you are directly defying the condition of my curse."

"Oh come now, I only want to see it play out a little bit. How about I let you interfere with their relationship after I've finished with them, you could make her curse even worse if it suits you."

"I do not need your permission, Eros."

"Perhaps not, but wouldn't it be dreadful if a couple of my arrows misplaced themselves into say, you and Poseidon?"

The goddess of wisdom snarled at the young god, he smiled back at her in an attempt at a taunt but quickly backed away when she pulled forth her spear.

"Fine, I will allow you to continue with your little game until you are done, then it is up to me what happens."

Athena turned around to leave and smiled as a strand of her hair hit Eros in the cheek, making him yelp.

Ω

The Gorgon carefully took off her green greeter jacket and let her brass wings stretch out, the metal caught the moonlight ever so slightly and a glowing white line danced along the ground. Silently, she crept out of the glassless window and took flight; cool air swept passed her wrinkled face, her lime green vipers hissed gently in her ears, and the greasy flaps of her dress waved behind her in the light breeze. Bright city lights passed her like a kaleidoscope of yellow, orange and red, the cars beneath her seemed static as they rolled along the road in the late night traffic.

The smell of Thomas caught her nose and her eyes lit up, a huge smile shot across her face as wonderful thoughts pranced through her mind, the spot on her bicep that had hurt before began to purr ever so slightly. She neared the spot of the scent and swooped down outside of Morimito.

Her wings beat against the ground as she landed, the talons of her feet scraped against the pavement and a few people stared at her, most likely seeing something like a jetpack landing. Stheno began to walk towards the restaurant, her eyes sparkled with excitement. She took a step closer to Morimito but stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the state of her dress in a window; she patted the creases of the fabric only to find more grease stains hidden under the folds, hurriedly her gaze darted around for a suitable attire – a white dress in a shop window caught her attention. Apace she ran into the store, the bright lights left her momentarily stunned and the green flashes that accompany an intense glow plagued her vision, store clerks ran around like headless chickens trying to appease the rich customers that flocked in the shop. Stheno crouched and slowly edged towards the dress, carefully trying to avoid the shoppers and staff that dashed around; inch by inch the garment became closer. Her hand reached out to touch it as it hung loosely on the mannequin, just as her fingertip made contact with the soft cotton a clerk coughed to get her attention.

"I'm sorry miss but you can't touch display models," The clerk eyed her up and down, "and we don't have any more of that design in stock."

Stheno looked disheartened for a second but quickly responded, "sorry dear, I just really need this dress. How about I trade this gift card for Bargain Mart for it? I'll throw in some 50% off stickers as well – everybody loves stickers."

"I'm afraid that I can't give you it miss."

"I don't offer these stickers to anybody, y'know." She tried to pout and give puppy dog eyes.

"I'm sorry but I will have to ask you to leave."

"Well that is a shame…" She paused and then smiled, "Oh my! A helicopter's crashing!"

"Miss, I don't know how stupid you think I am bu-"

The clerk was cut off by a left hook to the jaw, she fell to the ground without a sound. The bustling aisles of the shop kept everyone busy - no one even noticed the unconscious member of staff being heaved under one of the racks of clothing. Stheno snatched the dress and ripped the security tag from the collar before running out of the shop into the night, and flying behind a building to get changed.

Thomas sat in the back corner of the restaurant, twiddling his finger in nervous anticipation, a fly buzzed around the nape of his neck as a bead of hot sweat trickled down his skin, he swatted at the insect but it still persistently flew to and from his neck. Six tiny legs planted themselves onto Thomas's damp flesh, it rubbed its two forelegs together and tip-toed through a forest of thin hairs, making its way towards a sore red lump. A hand came down, squashing the fly, insect organs were forced from the spliting sides of the hairy body and were flung across Thomas's skin, stringy yellow guts became tangled in the grey hairs.

"Damn bugs," he mumbled to himself.

A waitress approached him, she held a small notepad in her left hand and a biro in her right, her eyes looked at him and then the pad to gesture him to order. He shook his head and mouthed 'five more minutes'.

His misty grey eyes were fixed on the doorway, he couldn't explain why but he felt as if he _had _to see Stheno again; the red spot burned with anticipation as fear swamped his mind. Doubt of his date showing up became evermore prominent as the minutes ticked by. Cold sweat dripped from his pores as his hands began to shake and the nape of his neck simmered with a terror that he couldn't quite understand. When the anxiety reached its pinnacle and he was nearly at breaking point, a woman in a white dress skipped into the café; his heart raced as he saw her, her maroon eyes were deep set in wrinkles that followed the broad structure of her face, her hair was a colour he couldn't quite name, it was like a greasy blonde that turned green in the white lights of Morimito, like most women of her age she was dumpy and the garment she wore looked a few too many sizes too small. By no means was she attractive, but Thomas didn't care, he didn't even mind that the dress she wore was on inside out or that it had a huge tear down the front from the collar, the feeling that he needed her was all that he could think about. Slowly, he flattened his old blue suit and stood up.

They looked at each other, sparks darted between their gazes and the rest of the world seemed to stand still. Stheno moved forward towards the table, she smiled at Thomas as she sat down.

"Hello dear," she stuttered "you look very blue… I mean nice, but blue as well. But you probably knew that. Sorry, I'm a little nervous today honey."

He laughed gently, "You look pretty good yourself. Say, how 'bout we order something before this place shuts."

Her eyes lit up when she thought of the meal, saliva build up in her mouth in anticipation. The waitress from before was called over, she took both orders quickly and dashed off to the chef. The two sat at the table, looking intently into each other's eyes, they slipped on the warming silence comfortably and waited for their meals.

The food came on steaming white plates, Thomas was given a fish meal, the salmon was laced in lemon sauce and had a pot of seasoned vegetables next to it. Stheno, on the other hand, had a chicken leg with fries. Greedily she reached down and snatched up the bone of the chicken leg, she pulled it up to her lips; her mouth opened wide as the meat came closer, she clamped her jaws around it and tore the delicate flesh of the chicken away from the leg before swallowing it whole, a bit like how a pelican would consume a fish. Other restaurant goers began to look over at Stheno, their expressions clearly showed they were not amused at the racket she was causing; she turned around to face them, a strand of chicken hung from her bottom jaw as she smiled at an annoyed 20-year-old woman.

The same woman gestured for one of the waitresses to come over, she pointed over to Stheno and whispered something in the waitress's ear, curtly nodding when the staff had gone.

"Excuse me sir and ma'am, but it seems like your causing some disturbance with the rest of the customers and we would appreciate it if you would abide more by the general rules of etiquette." A man in a white uniform said to Thomas and Stheno.

"Hm? I don't get what we were doin' wrong. We're paying just like they are and I don't think it's fair for them, or you, to tell us how to eat our meal." Thomas replied.

"Sir, if you do not allow others to enjoy their meals in peace then I am afraid I will have to ask you both to leave. We have a reputation we need to keep up and it does not help us when there are people like you spilling food upon the table and smiling at other customers with pieces of meat hanging from their lips. I hope you understand what kind of restaurant this is."

"Well then we might just leave you and your little snooty-ass 'customers' to get on with your 'etiquette'. Oh, and don't expect a tip."

Thomas stood up abruptly, opened his wallet, and shoved a handful of coupons and notes into the man's chest. Stheno grabbed the rest of the chicken and shoved it down her top before taunting the 20-year-old, who had just watched the hiding of the chicken, with another beaming smile. They both walked out of Morimito into the cool night, Thomas shook his head and looked at his date sadly.

"Sorry, I didn't think the meal'd go like that, goddam pricks working in there."

"It's fine dear, it was a nice meal while it lasted." She gave a nervous grin and turned to him.

"I was thinking, how would you like to go out to a nice spot I know on Westwood Hill? The night's nice and it'd be a shame to waste it."

"That'd be wonderful dear!"

"Great! My car's just 'round the corner, I'll drive you there unless you brought a car."

Stheno smiled at him again and said that she didn't even have a car, the two walked out to Thomas's battered BMW and got in it to go to Westwood Hills.

Wind ruffled the branches of the trees, an owl flew from its perch and swooped over the short grass, the emerald blades parted as the magnificent brown wings forced them into a bow; the great bird glided effortlessly to a thick branch overlooking two people who were sat at summit of the Westwood Hills, it cocked its head in what seemed to be a judgmental manner and stood silent and watchful.

Thomas leant against the boot of his car and gestured for Stheno to come and sit next to him, she skipped over with excitement brimming in her eyes and plonked her body down on the metal work. He smiled at her gently as he stretched his arm around the back of her neck, although he didn't see it, her snakes nuzzled his hand lovingly. The navy blue sky stretched on over Napa and into infinity, the air possessed the icy fresh quality of the wilderness and thus inspired deep thought. They looked into each other's eyes for a second time, the two spots that usually burnt when in doubt now hummed with pleasure; their gazes never dropped as they got lost in comforting thought, euphoria buzzed throughout the air as they moved closer towards each other. Pursed lips inched forward and the temperature seemed to increase by a couple of degrees.

And then a dead mouse fell from the sky. The little furry corpse landed on Thomas's nose, he screamed and frantically waved his hands about his face; the body fell onto his lap, as soon as he saw it in full his breathing became shallow and quick, he shook violently with terror as the deceased rodent wobbled on his suit. Stheno stared at him with wide eyes, still with her lips pursed and face leant over, and picked up the mouse by the tail. Thomas still rocked to and fro on the bonnet, his long forehead dripped with sweat that rolled down his face and onto his cloths, he didn't even notice Stheno drop the mouse into her mouth; she swallowed it with a satisfying gulp and then turned her attention back to her date. Carefully, she lifted her arm and gently put it around his neck before pulling him into a hug, he made a small sigh as his head touched the soft fabric of her dress.

"It's gone now dear, don't worry." She cooed.

He whimpered slightly in response and pushed his head harder into her chest. Her sent uncurled and filled his nostrils, the scent of cheese and unwashed skin relaxed him; memories of his life washed through his mind, an image of his mother invaded his panic, her face mesmerized him and, for a moment, he lost touch with reality as happy images danced over his vision, the lump on the back of his neck seemed to sing to him, to entice him to be with the woman he was laid against. The two sat in elated silence.

Powerful beating of wings shattered the still of the summit, a hissing nest of coral snakes appeared over the edge of the hill, they rose until an entire body could be seen. Euryale's eyes bore down upon the two, she snarled and the veins in her neck flared up as the white hot anger rose up in her chest. The Gorgon's nails turned into curved talons as her crimson eyes began to flare with boiling fury, she went for the kill.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Reviews would be appreciated and flames would be very helpful :) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, but I do own your soul. **

**Part IV**

Euryale stormed forward, her knife-like talons glimmered in the light of the Moon as her arm rose up to strike her sister down. Stheno stood up and pushed Thomas out of the way, she held up her hands in surrender but her pleas were ignored; cold sharp brass sliced through her leathery skin, Gorgon blood flew from the lacerated flesh and into Euryale's right eye. The green liquid seeped into the retina, it bubbled and hissed as it dissolved the gooey tissue; a piercing scream ripped through the air and the window of the BMW shattered. Thomas looked up at the being withering in pain, he then turned to his date to see her bleeding heavily from a deep cut on her face. Rage boiled up in his chest, obliterating the fear of the mouse earlier, he leapt up as supernatural anger powered his body and charged at Euryale. His shoulder made contact with her ribcage, the bones splintered and the Gorgon screeched again, however, her screams were silenced as a right jab sent her hurtling off the hill.

Stheno stared at Thomas bewildered, she opened her mouth to ask how he did that but was cut off by Thomas yelling at her to get in the car. She ran to the battered BMW and flung open the door, shards of glass poured out of the passenger seat onto the grass below, she quickly swept off the remainder of the shattered windscreen and sat down, her breath was shallow and quick. Thomas did the same but seemed far more in control of his breathing, his grey eyes now seemed to house a thunderstorm in the cloudy irises. He ignited the ignition and reversed away from the edge of the hill apace, ignoring what seemed to him to be an old woman on a jetpack re-emerging to face them again. The tired spun wildly and turned up the turf, clumps of mud shot out from beneath the rubber as the car shot backwards. They made a U-turn and powered down Westwood Hill, trees passed them as a green blur; the world seemed to slow as the car sped up, outside of the window mixed together like a soup of thick, black treacle.

Euryale screeched, her jaw was slack and the clear fluid in her eye fizzed, not different from the fizz a drink of pop would make when opened. Her wings opened wide as the wind blew underneath them, she began to leave the ground; she flapped her wings with incredible force and took flight, the cold air rushed past her face, the area began to blur together as her speed increased. The red lights of the car came closer, she grimaced at the pain the wind was causing as it beat against the bloodied socket that used to be her right eye but the sheer determination derived from anger forced her onwards. The boot of the car was in reaching distance, she swiped at it, slitting the body of the car; she lifted her hand again but was cut off when what remained of her gaze caught onto a shard in the sky. It sped towards her, parting the air as it plummeted towards Earth.

Stheno looked back out of the rear window, her sister still soared towards them, her gory face glowered at the BMW with unfathomable hatred. A white shard flew down from the sky, it struck Euryale and carved through her nose; she hit the ground, spinning into the distance as soon as the grass hit her back.

Battered and bleeding, Euryale grasped at the ground in hopes of some type of comfort. Gore throbbed out from her cleft nostrils, she choked when she tried to breath out of her nose, she couldn't even smell any more. The white shard lay next to her, the tip was dyed green with her blood; on the body of the fragment was written 'I can't let you do that, love Eros xx'.

Ω

The God of Love laughed as he saw what his arrow had done, the injured body of Euryale quivered in as the full extent pain became realised.

"Well that's one obstacle out of the way, now to wait for my time to shine. Athena may have thought the relationship was bad, but this will completely blow her away. My genius sometimes surprises even me!"

Eros nodded slowly as he followed the car through the city, he clicked his fingers and the mortal he had chosen was released from the love-induced rage.

Ω

Thomas and Stheno sped along the streets of Napa, the sky was beginning to lighten with the glow of dawn threatening to show above the horizon. Thomas's eyes became less intense as his breathing became shallower; he looked at the road ahead with deep confusion, the grey tarmac sped underneath the car as if it was the one that was moving. Almost like he was the victim of a trance, the perturbed man found his way back to his house and pulled up on the well-worn driveway.

The house stood before them, the peeling white paint on the walls reflected the weak light of dawn, the door was a deep shade of blue with a small brass handle protruding out of the right side, and the four windows that decorated the front of the house peered down on the street below like a group of hungry black eyes silently waiting for their next victim. The couple got out of the car and headed towards the blue mouth of the beast; Thomas inserted a blackening brass key into the battered lock and turned it, a deep click echoed in the mechanism as it was unlocked.

Without creak nor groan, the door peeled back to reveal a dank cavern that ran back into an inky spot that seemed to consume light. Thomas's fingers danced along the dry wallpaper, the creases rubbed against the pattern of his fingertips and a slight buzzing sound was emitted from the two surfaces, after a minute of searching, his hand crept over a cool plastic light switch. He flicked the switch and an old light bulb crackled above the hallway, the grey glow partially illuminated the building; the corners seemed to emanate a sickly green hue that seeped through the cracking walls.

"Well, this is it. I know it ain't much but I've called it home for quite some time so it's really all I've got, just make yourself at home."

"That's so sweet of you dear!" her trademark grin shot across her face for a second but her expression quickly changed to puzzlement, "Thomas, what did you do to Euryale?"

"Hm? Oh, you mean that woman? I… I don't really know, I… I just went for her but I ain't sure why."

"I hope she's okay, she thinks she's so big and tough but she's just a bit confused."

"It don't matter if she's okay or dyein', she cut you up pretty bad and we need to get you sorted out."

"I'll be fine but it's nice for you to be concerned, I'm just worried about Eury, I don't think she'll be alright if she's left alone."

"What is it with you and her anyway? You seem so concerned even though she just came outta nowhere tryin' to kill you."

"Euryale is my little sister, she sometimes gets mad but I still love her."

"I think your 'little sister' needs to be detained, she ain't gonna come back is she?"

"I don't think so… I just hope she doesn't smell me…"

"She doesn't _what_ you?"

Stheno looked at him with a cheesy smile and then patted him on the head before skipping off. Thomas looked at where she had gone off to but then shrugged.

"I'll be going to bed now, just make yourself comfortable on the sofa in the front room."


End file.
